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00:00:00Whatever the weather, nature never fails to delight. Take young Ethel here, along with
00:00:05Mum Marshmallow. Ethel is a 12-week-old dairy-short-horned calf, finding her feet. She may be small now,
00:00:14but one day she'll be a fine countryside icon and every bit as big as Mum, embodying the
00:00:20heritage and charm of our rural landscape and heritage. Also charming us today, an intrepid
00:00:27explorer, a panel-show stalwart, a colony of beavers and a stinky baron who takes centre
00:00:34stage in today's Best of British. It's time for Love Your Weekend.
00:00:57From sprawling countryside, to bracing coastline, to quintessential English villages nestling
00:01:21among fields of grazing sheep, there's so much to appreciate in our countryside, with
00:01:26its rich cacophony of sounds and nose-tingling scents, there really can be no better place
00:01:32to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. A bit like today's show, really. Coming up, from
00:01:38scaling Everest to swimming with a 10-foot-long Nile crocodile, is basically a real-life Indiana
00:01:45Jones, Ben Fogel, on his latest hair-raising adventures. And it's double the fun on the
00:01:51farm today, or maybe double the trouble. Comedy power couple Paul Merton and Suki Webster
00:01:57on why spontaneity is their secret weapon. And it's like Holby City for wildlife. The
00:02:03group of six-week-old fawns, rescued after being found injured just six months ago, prepare
00:02:10to be let back into the wild. Florist Jonathan Mosley's armed with an array of blooms to
00:02:15show off the beauty and spectacle of some March favourites. And whether you favour a
00:02:20Smoky Soft or a Sussex Blue, Tom Sergey has the very best in cheese and wine combos. I
00:02:28wonder if he's got any pickled onions? Maybe even a gherkin? Ooh, or a pickled egg?
00:02:36But now, speaking of perfect pairings, our first guests are a match made in comedy heaven.
00:02:45Welcome husband and wife duo, Paul Merton and Suki Webster. And a man who's smoother
00:02:51than a tall glass of Pinot Grigio, Ben Fogel. And I apologise for all those cheesy lines.
00:02:59It's always fun, because I've got a perverse sense of humour, in working out connections
00:03:04and things that our guests have in common. And there have been some intriguing meetings
00:03:08here. So when did you two meet and decide that each was the one? We were doing a show
00:03:13in India, that's right, isn't it? Yes. We knew each other for a few years, but not properly.
00:03:18You know, we'd been on stage together, but never really spoken to each other much, had
00:03:22we? Not much, no. And then we went... That told me. We went to India, and we were with
00:03:30a troupe of people, and the others had left the hotel, and both Paul and I had the same
00:03:34stomach bug. And we met in the foyer, and I suggested that it would be a good idea that
00:03:40brandy and coke would settle our stomachs. Now, I should point out, medically, that is
00:03:44not a good idea. It isn't. Brandy and coke does not settle your stomach. But you had
00:03:47a good evening. It was fun, though. You had a good evening. But the thing was, there was
00:03:50a cabaret going on in the hotel, and there was a magician. It was the opposite of close-up
00:03:54magic, because he was about 500 yards away. Doing close-up magic. And he wasn't lit. And
00:03:59it was so often, you'd hear it go, ta-da! And we couldn't see what he was doing. So
00:04:03the combination of him and the brandy and each other was hysterical, wasn't it? Yes.
00:04:07We heckled this poor magician. But they were very positive politicians. We were just going,
00:04:12yes! Even though we could see nothing. Yes, the man's in league with the devil. Oh, wonderful.
00:04:21And you met Marina walking the dog, didn't you? I did, yes. I had a Labrador, Inca. She
00:04:28was my luxury item when I'd been on that show, Castaway, 25 years ago. And I was walking
00:04:34in Hyde Park, as I did every day. And one day, I spotted this really beautiful dog.
00:04:40And then I spotted the dog's owner and realised that she was quite beautiful as well. For days,
00:04:46I wanted to kind of bump into her. So I hid in a tree with my dog, and then I would kind
00:04:50of throw her out when I saw my wife. You have a sort of Leslie Phillips moment. Hello. Yes.
00:04:57But yes, we met, and we've been together ever since. Didn't your parents have a strange
00:05:03meeting? Yes, I was reminded about this a few minutes ago. I'd forgotten it. My father was
00:05:08a patient in the hospital, and my mother was a nurse. And my father was always fond of telling
00:05:12people that the two of them had met in bed. And actually, that's how it did happen. He was sort
00:05:17of like, I'm sure there's probably a rule about nurses not going out with patients. But somehow,
00:05:20my dad's charm got past that. And yeah, so they met. And if they hadn't have met,
00:05:26this would be a bit boring, because I wouldn't be here. And interestingly, my parents met in
00:05:32similar circumstances, but slightly different. They were sharing a bed with my dad. Not quite
00:05:38that, but my father, still a practicing vet, saw my mother as a patient. Well, her dog,
00:05:44to be specific. Yes. A golden retriever, that would be really weird. It wouldn't be, yes. A
00:05:48golden retriever who'd swallowed a balloon, and they met. Mum was performing on stage and invited
00:05:53dad to see her in the theatre, and they got together. So they also met in unusual circumstances,
00:05:58not in bed with your dad. No, but brought together by a balloon. But brought together by a balloon or
00:06:02a dog. Ben, you're about to do a one-man called Wild. Do you need any tips? These are the experts.
00:06:09I mean, I have been touring now for a couple of years. So I started about four years ago,
00:06:13and it really is out of my comfort zone. Although my mother's an actress, so maybe I was born with
00:06:17kind of the performing genes. It's still a very different discipline to lots of my travel,
00:06:22where I'm in faraway, remote places. And all mine is very solitary. It is one-man touring.
00:06:27And actually, I found the first two years or so actually quite difficult. It was
00:06:32incredibly nerve-wracking. You know, big paying audience. I owe them to give them a really good
00:06:38show. And actually, last year's that I did, I did about 30 performances sell out. And actually,
00:06:43I got such an amazing reaction from people. Because what I wanted to do was to translate
00:06:48my travel into something that people could actually take something away, something hopeful.
00:06:52And that's not easy. Do you have visuals? Do you have sort of slides and stuff? I do. But I didn't
00:06:56want to turn it into a geography class. And that, I think, was one of my real worries. I wanted to
00:07:03make it really immersive, really theatrical. Because we're in proper big theatres, which is
00:07:08beautiful in itself. Almost all of those theatres my mother has performed on before. So there is
00:07:13something exciting. But I know I'm going to get some tips from these guys. Do you do questions
00:07:18and answers? I do, actually. And people are hilarious. People ask brilliant questions.
00:07:23So I've really enjoyed that bit. Yeah. I did one in Eastbourne once. And there was an old
00:07:27lady in the audience who said, what do I do to get my ipiastrum to flower? So I said, well,
00:07:32after it's bloomed the first time, you let it die down. You put it in the airing cupboard for a bit.
00:07:37And it will initiate the flower bud in the base of the bulb. And I went back two years later
00:07:41and to this same lecture group in Eastbourne. And a little old lady put her hand up in the
00:07:46audience. She said, when you came in a couple of years ago, you told me about getting my ipiastrum
00:07:51to flower. And you said, put it in the airing cupboard. So I said, yes, that's right. Thinking
00:07:55it wouldn't be worth it. She said, when do I take it out? Stupid boy. I'd have forgotten that bit.
00:08:01You remind me of a story that I think it's Judi Dench who talks about when she was in
00:08:04repertory theatre in the late 50s. In the repertory, you've got different parts every
00:08:08week. So sometimes you've got a small part. Sometimes you've got a larger part. And one
00:08:11week, she had quite a small part. In the next week, she had a larger part. And she was stopped
00:08:14by two women. It may have been Eastbourne again. And they said, oh, you thought of more to say
00:08:18this week, didn't you? The idea of actors on stage thinking of, what can I say?
00:08:25It's not been a good week. Well, thank you very much for coming. Lovely to have you come here.
00:08:29We'll chat to all three of you a little bit later on. Still ahead, how to harness our spring blooms
00:08:34in a sustainable way. Don't miss Horace Jonathan Mosley's mesmerising showcase of seasonal flowers.
00:08:41And ready for their close-up, Mr Demille, are rare breed short-horned cows, Marshmallow and
00:08:47Ethel, a couple of bovine beauties currently having a hoof about in our rather soggy paddock.
00:08:53I'll see you with the cows and much more right after this.
00:09:08Welcome back to Love Your Weekend. Coming up, confessions of an adventurer, Ben Fogel,
00:09:16on everything from hunting in the Congo to scaling Mount Everest. And now, his greatest challenge,
00:09:22journeying here to Manor Farm. I mean, the terrain's pretty squelchy at the moment. Just
00:09:28check out the paddock here. And if you fancy the freshness and lushness of a silky chardonnay
00:09:34with a creamy brie, or the bite of pinot noir with sharp cheddar, this is the place to be.
00:09:41Tom Sergey celebrates perhaps two of the greatest things on the earth, wine and cheese. Is there
00:09:48anything in life more delightful than a cheese board? Not for me. But before that, it's time
00:09:54to meet some very special guests. The dairy short horn is a beautiful rare breed of cattle
00:10:01that evolved in the late 18th century in the northeast of England. As their name suggests,
00:10:07they're specialists in milk and are all about quality over quantity. Cows after my own heart.
00:10:14Known for their attractive appearance and gentle temperament, the females are known to make good
00:10:20mothers, as Marsh Mallow here proves. Here to tell us more, Marsh Mallow and her calf, Ethel's owner,
00:10:28dairy farmer, Matthew Elphick. Matthew, you're very welcome. Dairy short horn, not a horn in sight?
00:10:34No, that's right. We do de-horn them, just for safety reasons really. But yeah, obviously,
00:10:40as the name suggests, they would have fairly small horns. But beautiful colour. Yes. Glorious colour.
00:10:46We'll try and have a wonder. We'll try and keep them corralled over here. Now, before we talk
00:10:51too much more about them, I want to talk about you because you're a first generation farmer,
00:10:55which always cheers me up no end, does me heart good when people come into it,
00:10:59but not from a farming family. No, that's right. Yeah, me and my partner Betsy, we're both first
00:11:04generations. We rent our little farm in Surrey from the Countryside Regeneration Trust and we've
00:11:11been tenants there since 2017. Now, cattle in particular take a lot of flack from those who
00:11:17think we shouldn't have cows all over the countryside. You, however, have got this
00:11:21regenerative style of farming. Tell us about it. What do you do? Yeah, that's right. They get a
00:11:27bit of a lot of bad press cows, but it's not the cow, it's the how. It's how we farm them. And so
00:11:33farming regeneratively like this, we're really mimicking a herd of wild herbivores. So we're
00:11:40moving the cows regularly, we're not over grazing, and we're grazing in a way that really promotes
00:11:45and encourages biodiversity. How are you managing the grazing then? How often do you move them?
00:11:50We move them every day. Every day? Every day. To fresh pasture? That's right, yeah. So we split the
00:11:56farm up into about 30 paddocks, so each paddock is going to get a rest for 30 days. That enables
00:12:03the plants to have a natural life cycle, to flower, to seed. So it is allowing that pasture
00:12:08to regenerate for 30 days after just being grazed for one, but of course it's been manured over that
00:12:13period of time. You're then getting the insects coming in for the manure. How is it affecting
00:12:18the health of your cattle? It's really positive because we can use the natural ecology rather than
00:12:23have to use man-made inputs, so with things like the insects, you know, particularly like dung beetles
00:12:28and that sort of thing, and other beetles and insects that live in dung, they're our
00:12:34sort of nature's... They're breaking it all down. They're breaking it down, but they're nature's
00:12:38parasite control as well, so they're reducing our worm burden and our fly burden and that sort of thing.
00:12:43So you don't have to worm them? We don't worm them, we don't use insecticides like pour on fly
00:12:48repellents, and that, you know, if we did that, those insects couldn't thrive in the soil.
00:12:53We're trying to use the ecology, the insects, but also plants as well, so plants like birdsfoot
00:12:58trefoil have natural anti-worming qualities. We're really looking for no inputs at all in our
00:13:04farming method system. You're a soil man, I know. I mean, just making sure that you are
00:13:10a great custodian, a steward, if you like. Yeah, yeah, because it's so important, the soil. I mean, it's
00:13:16very relevant for us at the moment because we're wanting to create a landscape where
00:13:20the CO2 can be taken out of the atmosphere, down into the soil, where it's beneficial, it's
00:13:25going to feed soil microbes. That's what it's about, feeding the soil rather than feeding the plants,
00:13:30but also it's affecting our health because our food is only as good as the soil in which it's
00:13:36derived, and also it dictates whether or not we have a healthy functioning ecosystem.
00:13:43Dairy shortens. Managing the way you do, can you make a living out of it? We can. The important
00:13:48thing for us, because we're such small scale, is we are processing the milk ourselves,
00:13:53so we're not sending it off to a bigger dairy to go into supermarkets and that sort of thing.
00:13:57We're using all the milk to make cheese and yoghurt at the moment. How much goes to the calf
00:14:03and how much for processing? How we manage that is we leave cow and calf together for the first few
00:14:08weeks and then we start just slightly restricting it, so we'll take the calf away overnight and then
00:14:13in the morning we'll milk the cow on three quarters, we'll leave one quarter for the calf
00:14:18and then we'll let them together and they'll spend the day together. So milking once a day?
00:14:21Milking just once a day. Rather than twice, which is the customary morning and evening. That's right.
00:14:26Quite long-lived, I gather, and can be in calf for quite a long time too. Yeah, absolutely.
00:14:30They've certainly got a good longevity, this breed, but about 15 they could happily keep
00:14:35milking. From your point of view, is this something you'd recommend to other people to
00:14:39come into? I hope so, yeah. I mean there's no reason, we're obviously doing it on a small scale, but there's
00:14:43no reason this couldn't be upsized and I think people care about this now. People care about
00:14:49how their food is reared and where it comes from. There's a lot of environmental benefit to
00:14:55this and obviously welfare, so we want a cow that can thrive outside for as much of the year as
00:15:01possible and can milk and be healthy and fertile just eating grass, really. We do feed a small
00:15:07amount of concentrated feed, but other than that we're predominantly a pasture-based diet.
00:15:12There must be a great deal of personal satisfaction for you in knowing that you've got this
00:15:16cycle working, the moving daily for grazing, the manure, the insect life, the wildlife being
00:15:25cared for as well, and then these two great-looking beauties here, one cow and their calf, they're
00:15:30having a bit of exercise now. We're having to just keep them corralled in this corner.
00:15:35But great job satisfaction. Oh it is, definitely. Are you glad you came into farming? I am, yeah. It's hard
00:15:41work, there are some hard old days, but as you say, you get a lot of job satisfaction for it.
00:15:47It's a nice way of living, although there is some hard old days, I don't regret it.
00:15:51You don't regret it. Spring's coming. It is, yeah, the end's in sight. Yeah, that's right.
00:15:57Lovely to have you with us, thanks so much Matthew. Thank you Marshmallow, oh they're having a little snack now,
00:16:02and Ethel. Just going to stay out with the cows really. Still ahead as spring approaches, we're
00:16:09having fun with florals, and no that's not a comment on Jonathan's wardrobe. Jonathan Mosley
00:16:14here with an array of seasonal blooms, and he's the very model of a modern day explorer with a
00:16:20career spent embedding himself in exotic and remote locations. Ben Fogle on swapping the Sahara
00:16:28for Stevenage, and the Amazon for Aberdeen. I'll see you with Ben and much more right after this.
00:16:34Welcome back to Love Your Weekend. Coming up, we all like a happy ending. How the dedicated staff
00:16:54of One Wildlife Rescue Centre are preparing to say an emotional goodbye to some dear friends
00:17:00as they begin a new life in the wild. And have they got views for you, Paul Merton and Suki Webster,
00:17:07on the funny side of life, love and marriage. But first, my next guest, first shot to fame 25 years
00:17:13ago, when he appeared on Castaway 2000. Being marooned on the remote Scottish island of Taransay
00:17:20for an entire year was just the beginning for Ben. Since then, he's swum with crocodiles, crossed
00:17:27Antarctica, raced across the Sahara, and even climbed Mount Everest. Those last few steps, the dream,
00:17:38the hope, the fear, the pain. That's cool. I know. The elation.
00:17:58I am on the roof of the world. 8,848 metres on the summit of Everest.
00:18:07You know what? I dreamed of this as a child. I never thought I'd actually stand here.
00:18:16So did you then have a good weep? Because to go through that mentally and physically, and the
00:18:23emotion that you must have felt at the top, being in a place that in relative terms so few people
00:18:28have been. For me, Everest was so much more than just that moment. That's the heroic moment of,
00:18:34you know, being able to celebrate getting halfway, by the way, because what goes up must come down.
00:18:41So, you know, the hardest bit is actually the descent. But it was the culmination of so many
00:18:46dreams, so many kind of hopes that I'd had through my life. And for me, it remains probably of all
00:18:53the things I've done, and I've done quite a few. You mentioned a couple of them at the beginning.
00:18:57I think it remains the thing I'm proudest of, but also the thing that changed me the most.
00:19:03It changed me in so many different ways. How? I think it made me humbler, made me a better person.
00:19:11It kind of made me a more thoughtful person. I think what it really did for me, it put everything
00:19:18into perspective. You know, when you're standing on the highest point on earth, one of very few
00:19:23people to have done it, having faced death straight on, you know, the line between life and death is
00:19:30pretty visceral there. But on a positive, when you look at that mountain range stretching out
00:19:36hundreds of miles, no sign of humanity, there's something very powerful that changes you forever.
00:19:42You know, we talk about it, you know, Everest was nothing compared to those that walked on the moon,
00:19:47but the men that walked on the moon have all talked about the life-changing experience that
00:19:51had on them of seeing earth from afar. And in some ways, I think climbing Everest was a pretty
00:19:57profound moment for me. The famous answer to the question, why do you want to do it, is because
00:20:01it's there. But why do you persist in putting yourself through things which are known to be
00:20:12the highest tests of endurance, the things where things are likely to go wrong, basically the
00:20:17greatest chance of dying. With everything you do, it's high risk. Why? What makes you do it?
00:20:25You've got a wife, you've got a family, you know, you love your family, you're a family man.
00:20:31Why are you driven to do this? What is it in the fogal brain that makes you do it?
00:20:36Well, I suppose in the same way, what gives you the passion for flowers and for gardens?
00:20:42It's not quite so dangerous.
00:20:43You're right. Well, that depends where you're doing it. But you're right. But I think for me,
00:20:49funny enough, the danger is not, you know, danger is all relative to our own perspectives. And
00:20:55remember, danger is also down to how much planning and preparation you have put in.
00:20:59Yeah, but Everest has got the better of many people who planned.
00:21:02You are quite right there. I think, you know, to not want to sound too cliched, but
00:21:08life is about the journey, not just the destination.
00:21:10But also, there must be times of real fear. I mean, genuine fear, knowing, have I really
00:21:15bitten off more than I can chew? Have I really done it this time? Is this a bridge too far?
00:21:18I agree. You don't, and I'm certainly not encouraging people to all go off and row
00:21:22oceans or do some of the things I do. But I think you should confront those fears. And those fears,
00:21:28by the way, might be trying to plant a brand new type of thing in your garden that you've
00:21:34never experimented with before. It might be standing on a stage when you suffer stage
00:21:39fright. I think there are many things that make us all individual, and the fears are one of them.
00:21:45You also go out of your way to meet other like people who've done things. New Lives
00:21:50in the Wild is a fascinating series, because you meet these people who are living extraordinary
00:21:54lives. Any time I can stick it to the man, and in a small way, I do.
00:22:01Could you start your life all over again, leave behind everything you know,
00:22:06for something completely different?
00:22:09It's like, I guess we live in a bit of a pressure cooker.
00:22:11I'm Ben Fogel, and over the next few weeks, I'm going to live with the incredible people
00:22:16who've done just that.
00:22:18Did you ever feel like abandoning the property?
00:22:22It's my home.
00:22:23Would you say you enjoy the companionship of animals more than people?
00:22:26Probably, yeah.
00:22:28In some of the most remote places on earth.
00:22:32This is why I love the wilderness.
00:22:34I'll discover their motivations.
00:22:36For me, it was just, yeah, you're born, you go to school, you work all life, and then you die.
00:22:41The challenges.
00:22:42There's no way that I was going to put my wife and my children in that house,
00:22:46the condition that it was in.
00:22:48Just make sure there's absolutely no electrical current down there.
00:22:51And find out what it takes to make a new life in the wild.
00:22:59Well, not only have you been doing that, but you're also going on tour to do
00:23:03Wild, which presumably feeds on that and explains to your audience in
00:23:07theatres across the land exactly what I'm asking you about.
00:23:11Why do you do it?
00:23:12And what are these people like?
00:23:13But great courage.
00:23:15That's the one common thing through that.
00:23:17In saying, I am going to do this, rather like you did.
00:23:20You admire that?
00:23:21Of course I admire it.
00:23:22And it's kind of facing their fears.
00:23:23Because I think many of us take on a status quo in our lives that, you know,
00:23:28this is the model that we want to follow.
00:23:30And you heard in some of the examples there of people that want to break free
00:23:34from that kind of the prescription of life that many of us are following.
00:23:39So I really admire them.
00:23:41Some of the stories that I've been able to explore over the years,
00:23:46I wanted to bring them all together in something that was sort of uplifting
00:23:50and maybe give people some hope and some inspiration.
00:23:54Because I think there's quite a lot of negativity in the world.
00:23:56You know, it's what I love about you, Alan, is that you're so positive.
00:23:59And you've always been a really sunny person on television.
00:24:05I think we can both agree there's a bit of television that maybe isn't quite like that.
00:24:09And the world is quite a heavy place right now.
00:24:12So what I really want to do is bring all the sunny people that I've met
00:24:15and all the really good stories and all the hopeful things
00:24:18and pull all that together and try and lift people's spirits.
00:24:22Because, you know, there's a lot to drag people down, I think, right now.
00:24:26As indeed it did you some time ago.
00:24:30Can you put your finger on why it happened that you had this real struggle mentally?
00:24:35I think like everyone, I overburdened myself.
00:24:39I put too much pressure on myself.
00:24:41I was overworking.
00:24:43And for someone who has always advocated a simpler life
00:24:46and trying to steer clear of those things, I fell into one of those traps.
00:24:51And it was a, you know, I describe it as kind of a blip, a storm in my life
00:24:55that I was able to move through.
00:24:57And the reason I'm always happy to mention it or talk about it
00:25:00is that I think we do need to remove a stigma.
00:25:03Because I think even those who have
00:25:05the strongest mental and physical abilities are susceptible.
00:25:09You've proved that.
00:25:10I mean, you've done things that are way beyond most mortal's compass.
00:25:16You couldn't do that.
00:25:17And yet, you did in effect then find the limit of your abilities,
00:25:23mentally and physically, when it went pop, as it were.
00:25:26Yeah.
00:25:27Well, I think, you know, I'm in admiration of our brains.
00:25:30I can recall probably hundreds of different journeys now over the years,
00:25:35all the encounters I've had.
00:25:36I could tell you everyone's names.
00:25:37Isn't it amazing what the brain can do?
00:25:38But it can also be quite nefarious and it can be quite mischievous.
00:25:42Obviously, on the simple answer, how did you get over it?
00:25:45How did you work through?
00:25:46Is there a technique that you can briefly share that says,
00:25:51how do you come away from that kind of level of lowness?
00:25:55Well, I think it's acknowledgement is the first thing,
00:25:58you know, to acknowledge that maybe you need a bit of help.
00:26:00I sought some professional help and then I kind of went out on my own.
00:26:06So I certainly followed professional advice.
00:26:11But I've always been very self-analytical.
00:26:13I think I've always understood my brain more than any other part of my body.
00:26:20And I knew what I had to do.
00:26:22I had to slow down.
00:26:22I was doing too much.
00:26:23You're also not single.
00:26:25You know, you've got a wife to think about, family to think about, Ludo.
00:26:29Do you sometimes feel guilty that they're short-changed
00:26:32because you're doing your thing and they happen to be there?
00:26:36Yeah, that was all, but you could be my therapist.
00:26:39That was, of course, all part of it, a guilt of being away.
00:26:42And I, you know, over the years, I've sort of justified it by saying,
00:26:46it's my job for a start.
00:26:48It's kind of what I've made a career.
00:26:50It would be quite hard to eke my way out of this.
00:26:52Of course, I could.
00:26:53There's other jobs I could perhaps try.
00:26:55But I love my job.
00:26:56But I've cut back on lots of the work.
00:26:58I've spent so much time with my family.
00:27:00I take off every single day of the holidays.
00:27:02And they're now saying to you, get out, go.
00:27:04They are so bored of me now.
00:27:07So bored of me.
00:27:08But I love it.
00:27:09And, you know, I think to go back to this idea that life is the journey,
00:27:13not just the destination,
00:27:15I've got to enjoy everything I have rather than constantly chasing the next thing.
00:27:19And that's the advice I give to people.
00:27:21It's what I share on the stage in my show.
00:27:23New Lives in the Wild, I've done for 13 years now or so.
00:27:27I've spent time with 150 people, couples, families all over the world.
00:27:32And I've learnt so many lessons from them.
00:27:34And the one thing I've taken away from everything I've done,
00:27:38all the adventures, all the encounters with people
00:27:40that I brought to the show,
00:27:41is just how to try to find that contented happiness in your life.
00:27:47I think if you can find a moment in every day where you are somewhere,
00:27:52wherever, even if it's very familiar,
00:27:54it might just be looking out of your window at a tree
00:27:56or going to stand up by a tree in my case or whatever,
00:28:00and just hold that moment while you're there and think,
00:28:05this is reality.
00:28:07This is what it's all about,
00:28:09which is why I love the outdoors and why I love gardening.
00:28:12Because it's constant.
00:28:14It is literally grounding.
00:28:16When all the mayhem of the world's going on around you,
00:28:19just go out there, be with that bit.
00:28:22And it's still there, even if it's at the top of Everest.
00:28:24Yeah, it's really grounding.
00:28:25And I think we all need to reconnect with nature because we are nature.
00:28:31Your Sunday morning therapy session has come to your courtesy
00:28:34of Ben Fogel and Alan Titchmarsh.
00:28:36And the tour's starting this month in March in a town or a city near you.
00:28:40Thank you, Ben.
00:28:41Pleasure.
00:28:41You'll partake of the cheese and wine.
00:28:43I can't wait.
00:28:45I'm glad.
00:28:45Lovely to talk to you.
00:28:46Thanks for sharing so much.
00:28:49Now, breathtaking landscapes of the kind we've been talking about.
00:28:52Beautiful wildlife shots and nature's finest features.
00:28:57You know that what we've been talking about makes sense
00:29:00because your cameras have been busy.
00:29:02It's time to roll out the green carpet and showcase the stunning snaps
00:29:07that you captured in Walk on the Wild Side.
00:30:14So
00:30:31camera never lies, but it does remind us to look more closely at our surroundings.
00:30:36Please do keep sending them in.
00:30:37We do love them and I think you do too.
00:30:39Coming up, a homage to fromage.
00:30:41Do you remember when cheddar cheese cubes and pineapple chunks on sticks
00:30:46were the height of sophistication?
00:30:48We've come such a long way in the last 50 years.
00:30:50Tom Surge is here with the very best in what's hot and what's not
00:30:55in the world of cheese and wine pairings.
00:30:57Also coming up, deer, kingfishers and fish as you've never seen them before.
00:31:03We meet the veterinarian turned artist inspired by his love of wildlife.
00:31:08Avneet Sheema, sharing his passion for all creatures great and small right after this.
00:31:28Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.
00:31:30Lots more to come today including a comedy double act who are also a perfect match.
00:31:35Husband and wife Paul Merton and Suki Webster reveal why they're all smiles both on stage and off.
00:31:42And small but mighty, adorable but with a bit of a bite
00:31:46and loving nothing more than making a splash.
00:31:48We follow a colony of the cutest beaver kits in this week's small wonders with Leslie Joseph.
00:31:55But first it's time for your voice of nature.
00:31:58Today it's the turn of Jane Asher and Crocuses by Anna M Platt.
00:32:06A kind voice calls, come little ones, it is time to wake from sleeping.
00:32:15And out of bed without a word the drowsy folk come creeping.
00:32:20And soon above the chilly earth their tiny heads are peeping.
00:32:25They bravely face the wind of March, its bite and bluster scorning.
00:32:29Like little soldiers till, oh joy,
00:32:33with scarce a word of warning the crocuses slip off their caps and give us gay good morning.
00:32:48Thank you Jane.
00:32:49Crocuses, a symbol of cheerfulness and a joy each spring when they bravely push up and open their flowers in the sun.
00:32:58Now our next guest is a fellow Yorkshireman who lives something of a double life.
00:33:02A full-time vet by day, he spends his evening creating magnificent animal inspired sculptures.
00:33:09Here to tell us how on earth he manages to fit it all in.
00:33:12It's my pleasure to welcome Dr Avneet Cheema.
00:33:15Avneet, welcome.
00:33:16And I gather you've just passed another exam in the veterinary world.
00:33:21Yeah, I think the journey of learning just is ongoing.
00:33:25So what was the exam?
00:33:27The exam was in diagnostic imaging and it was hell.
00:33:32But you got it.
00:33:33I did, I did.
00:33:34I just had some news that I passed.
00:33:35Thank the Lord.
00:33:36Yeah, it's done.
00:33:38Done.
00:33:38Bring on, bring on more, I guess.
00:33:40I doubt that you can end it.
00:33:42Nowhere same as gardening, it's in this horticulture.
00:33:44Always something new coming on.
00:33:46New techniques.
00:33:47Absolutely, absolutely.
00:33:49Well, there's one technique you clearly mastered and you need no further examinations in.
00:33:53And that's this astonishing array of sculptures and paintings that we've got here.
00:33:59All, you know, wildlife and wildlife inspired.
00:34:03Was it always art as well as wanting to be a vet?
00:34:06Always.
00:34:07Ever since I was two, I was drawing and I suppose I knew how to do science.
00:34:11And that's kind of what led me here, I guess.
00:34:13In a way, rather like stubs had animals dissected, horses dissected.
00:34:19So you could see the musculature in order to paint them.
00:34:21Many great artists have used that technique.
00:34:23And veterinary was a great insight into animal physiology and anatomy.
00:34:27Yeah.
00:34:28So it really benefited.
00:34:29So the one feeds off the other, in a way.
00:34:32Now tell us what you've got.
00:34:33I mean, we've got fish over there.
00:34:36Made out of what?
00:34:38They have a wire skeleton, but then they're somewhat embellished with ceramic.
00:34:42And then they're painted, as it were.
00:34:45So it's a combination of several different media then, really.
00:34:49Different materials.
00:34:50The idea behind them is to also break up sculpture a little bit.
00:34:54It's not an exact replica.
00:34:56I want the viewer and the audience to feel the movement of the creature rather than just see it.
00:35:02Well, you know, that's no one more evident than down here.
00:35:04We're having a look at these two kingfishers.
00:35:06Now, when you see what's there and what's not there and your eye fills in the rest.
00:35:10That's the idea.
00:35:11Yeah.
00:35:11I'd like people to feel it and imagine it for themselves rather than just give them an end product.
00:35:16Well, and down here, I mean, this is, what have we got here?
00:35:20We've got, it's a young deer.
00:35:22It is a young deer.
00:35:23That's exactly what it is.
00:35:24But you've got there.
00:35:26What sort of material on that?
00:35:27We've got wire, obviously.
00:35:28There's wire.
00:35:29There's real leaves.
00:35:31There's preserved flowers and sticks and ceramic and pulp.
00:35:36So it's very mixed media, let's say.
00:35:38And the artworks, the two-dimensional ones.
00:35:41We've got puffins.
00:35:42Yeah, we got fish.
00:35:43Yeah, absolutely.
00:35:45What material are you working in with?
00:35:46I know these are copies of what you've done, but what kind of paint?
00:35:50They're acrylic.
00:35:51Yeah.
00:35:51So they're acrylic pieces.
00:35:52I think this piece now lives in Skipton.
00:35:56Yeah.
00:35:56And the fish, that now lives in far north Queensland in Australia.
00:35:59You're Australian.
00:36:00They're far flung, then, your works.
00:36:02I do love, I mean, the simplicity of those robins there.
00:36:07Now, that is a few lines.
00:36:10It's the same subject, but repeated in six different ways, all in different positions.
00:36:15And it's just to celebrate how special they look in every angle.
00:36:19Let's look at how you do this, because you've got a kingfisher here.
00:36:21Yes.
00:36:22You've got a soldering iron over there.
00:36:24What happens next here, then?
00:36:25Well, we're going to get stuck in and explore that.
00:36:27So we've got a few different things to look at.
00:36:29So when I make kingfishers, I love, I try to keep away from using things like resins
00:36:37to create the idea of water.
00:36:38I like the idea of something that's metallic is taken out of the water.
00:36:42And the idea is to put a few drops of solder onto the body,
00:36:45just to mimic the water droplets as they leave its plumage.
00:36:49Now, I know there's stuff here for me to have a go with.
00:36:51I think people are much more interested in seeing you do it than me mess it up.
00:36:56So show us what you do, then, with your drops of water.
00:36:58So we have a very hot solder here.
00:37:02So just for safety reasons, I've got you up here.
00:37:05Oh, right.
00:37:05OK.
00:37:06I won't get too close, anyway.
00:37:08We need to keep it safe.
00:37:10We've got a hot soldering iron here.
00:37:13Because my dad was a plumber, so I've seen soldering irons all my life.
00:37:16Well, you might recognise this kind of solder.
00:37:18It's one that doesn't rust.
00:37:20Or it kind of maintains that lovely, shiny, metallic look.
00:37:23So the end of it is lovely and hot.
00:37:25And all I'm looking to do is just melt just the end of it.
00:37:30And that there just mimics a water droplet.
00:37:33And as that dries onto the brick, that's what we'll use to create water droplets.
00:37:39So how do you get them from there?
00:37:41We'll mix a little bit of glue, and then we'll get them.
00:37:44And you just drop them on?
00:37:45Absolutely.
00:37:46It is very calming.
00:37:47The practice itself doesn't have a time deadline.
00:37:50It's very relaxing.
00:37:51And I mean, the two main things that...
00:37:54Let's go with what you've got.
00:37:55Yeah, shall we go with that?
00:37:56Yeah, we'll be here all afternoon.
00:37:57Yeah, exactly.
00:37:58That's probably a good idea.
00:38:00Take these off.
00:38:00Put your glasses on, then you can see.
00:38:02There we go.
00:38:06Right, now let's get these on here.
00:38:08See what we do.
00:38:09Look at this while you're doing that.
00:38:10I've just got to show this.
00:38:11Look, simple piece of wire.
00:38:13And you start with 2D, and then make it up to 3D.
00:38:15Absolutely.
00:38:16I recognise this two-part epoxy resin.
00:38:22I use this quite a lot at home.
00:38:23Yeah, I try and keep it to an absolute kind of minimum, really.
00:38:28Because it's not the best thing for the environment.
00:38:32I would never have thought of doing that.
00:38:33I use more matchsticks doing this than you'd believe.
00:38:37You want to wipe that now, don't you?
00:38:39Hang on a minute.
00:38:40Have you got something?
00:38:41Look at that.
00:38:42Oh, wow, organised.
00:38:42Twist the show.
00:38:43Thank you very much.
00:38:43Tissue in your pocket.
00:38:45Well, now that you're holding them.
00:38:46Oh, am I?
00:38:47Where do I?
00:38:48Oh, right.
00:38:49Where do I put them on, though?
00:38:49Well, I'll tell you what.
00:38:50Grab whichever one you want, and dip it in there.
00:38:54And then wherever you think it'll look good.
00:38:56What, on the wing?
00:38:57Oh, there.
00:38:58See if it'll stay on there.
00:39:01Try again.
00:39:01Yes, all right.
00:39:03Try a blue there.
00:39:04I'm determined.
00:39:05I'll put it there.
00:39:07Ah, lovely.
00:39:08There we are.
00:39:09I'm quite determined to get one on the very edge of the wing.
00:39:12If you want to get one on the wing, pick a bit where the wire is close and flat.
00:39:16Uh-huh.
00:39:17I'm getting there.
00:39:19Close and flat.
00:39:20There.
00:39:20That looks good, yeah.
00:39:21There's a double one there.
00:39:22Yeah, give it a go.
00:39:24Oh, do stay on for me.
00:39:25Oh, nice.
00:39:26Well done.
00:39:28Fantastic.
00:39:28Drops of water.
00:39:30That is a finishing touch.
00:39:32It is a finish.
00:39:32There's a few more needed on there.
00:39:34I'll work on that when you've gone.
00:39:35Yeah, absolutely.
00:39:36I'll glue it.
00:39:37That is a delight, haven't it?
00:39:39Well done.
00:39:39Good luck with your retinarianing.
00:39:42And your works of art are absolutely lovely.
00:39:45And that's a very soft spot for that.
00:39:46Very simple robin, bless it.
00:39:48Thank you very much.
00:39:49Lovely to see you.
00:39:56Now, as we know, the British countryside is full of wonderful native animals,
00:40:00all of whom somehow find their way through the changing of the seasons,
00:40:03from frosty winters to the occasional scorching summer day.
00:40:08But sometimes our wild friends do need a little help.
00:40:12And that's where one rescue centre in Kent comes in.
00:40:15Nursing sick, injured or orphaned animals back to health
00:40:20until they're ready to be reunited to Mother Nature's care.
00:40:24Since our last visit, the staff have been busy preparing some deer friends for release.
00:40:29So let's see how they got on.
00:40:39So today is the big day.
00:40:40After six months, we are finally releasing our deer fawns.
00:40:44I'm putting my white lab coat on.
00:40:46And it's to help prevent them becoming tame or associated with humans
00:40:50because there's less likely to be a person in a white lab coat
00:40:53wandering out in the parks that they can then approach.
00:40:56This is a big fenced off area of woodland that we own.
00:41:00And they've been down here for about a month or so.
00:41:03The reason I'm whispering is because I can see them just in the woodlands over there.
00:41:07And we do our best not to talk around them
00:41:10because we don't want them to associate with humans.
00:41:14Eugenie was our first fawn.
00:41:16She was being chased by a dog when the finders found her.
00:41:19So Eugenie is our only roe.
00:41:22They are a particularly solitary species.
00:41:25And they're quite dark and very distinctive.
00:41:28They have little white bums.
00:41:29So she came into us about a week old.
00:41:32The other four are all fallows.
00:41:33They're a bit larger.
00:41:35They're a herding species.
00:41:37And they're the dark colours and they can have spots.
00:41:39And they have little black bums.
00:41:41So it's the easiest way to tell them apart.
00:41:43Cedar was our next fawn.
00:41:45She had been clipped by a car.
00:41:47If we had Bramble, she is a special one to me.
00:41:51She took the most care because she had been caught in fencing
00:41:54and had quite nasty wounds to her legs and her groin
00:41:58which took several months worth of treatment.
00:42:01And but she's all good now.
00:42:02And then we paired her up with Alder.
00:42:05He's our only little boy.
00:42:07And again he was caught in fencing as well.
00:42:09He had a constriction wound around his foot.
00:42:12A course of pain relief and antibiotics.
00:42:14He's good and well.
00:42:16And then our last little straggler was Maple.
00:42:19She came in in late September.
00:42:21Little wounds on all of her knees but they weren't too severe.
00:42:26This enclosure has all their natural food sources
00:42:30including a little bit of holly
00:42:31which we can see that they've been nibbling on the leaves just there.
00:42:34But when they were babies we've been feeding them
00:42:36hazel, hawthorn, even some brambles.
00:42:39They tend to like all the spiky plants.
00:42:41In this natural environment they've built up all the behaviours
00:42:44that the way they should be acting.
00:42:46You know, they're scared of people.
00:42:48If they hear loud noises they'll scatter away.
00:42:51They can feed themselves and they're very quick.
00:42:54So they'll be able to get away from predators.
00:42:58So I can see Bramble and Alder together.
00:43:00It's really nice to see them still have that such strong bond with each other
00:43:04and obviously adding in the others.
00:43:06It's just lovely to see them all like a little herd.
00:43:10So I've just got their scatter feed down.
00:43:12We scatter feed it to give them some enrichment
00:43:14and encourage natural behaviours
00:43:16because the fallow are naturally grazing in the wild.
00:43:19So it's good that they can learn those skills.
00:43:21And we're going to back away now and hope that they come down
00:43:24and start foraging and then we'll do the same by the opening in the fence.
00:43:28It seems such a small thing to do
00:43:30but once this panel's removed they're able to go out into the wild.
00:43:33Raising them for over six months is just a lot of time investment
00:43:37and when they were little babies, just weeks old,
00:43:40they'd come home with me for a couple of months
00:43:43until they're big enough to stay on site.
00:43:45Quite a few of them had wounds that required daily treatment.
00:43:48It's been very intense, especially with Bramble.
00:43:51I'm going to miss them but they're going to be where they're meant to be.
00:43:56And it's just, yeah.
00:43:57We've just come down here and I've spotted the wild herd
00:44:01that we hope our fawns will join.
00:44:04We've seen them around this time of morning for the past couple of weeks.
00:44:08We're hoping that our five will join them.
00:44:12Oh my goodness.
00:44:13They've just come out the woodlands
00:44:14and they're wandering down to the hole in the fence,
00:44:16which is really exciting.
00:44:18I think they've just run off the other way.
00:44:20So, fingers crossed.
00:44:23Fingers crossed.
00:44:26It has been a few days since we released our deer fawns.
00:44:29I'm still feeling quite emotional
00:44:31but I've been reviewing the camera chat footage
00:44:33and they're all doing really well.
00:44:35They're venturing further afield each day.
00:44:37Bramble and Alder, the two that we paired together,
00:44:40went off almost exactly the same time
00:44:44and everyone else slowly followed behind.
00:44:46One of the most surprising things that we captured
00:44:49was a wild male fallow
00:44:52who just came across the camera trap
00:44:55within hours of us releasing them.
00:44:58It's looking really positive
00:45:00that he may be part of that world herd that's been around
00:45:04and slowly they'll start integrating.
00:45:06It's amazing though to get this opportunity
00:45:08to make a difference to an individual animal.
00:45:11It's just, I just love it.
00:45:15Thank you to everyone at Folly and stay tuned.
00:45:19We'll be back in Kent next week
00:45:21to see more of their brilliant rescue work.
00:45:23Still ahead, tulips, alliums, euphorbias and irises.
00:45:28Don't miss florist Jonathan Moseley's
00:45:31mesmerising showcase of seasonal flowers,
00:45:34each with its own unique colour and fragrance.
00:45:37Jonathan Moseley and his bounty of blooms
00:45:39coming up right after this.
00:45:50Welcome back to Manor Farm.
00:45:52Coming up, delectable cheese, fine wine, good company.
00:45:56How am I in heaven?
00:45:57It's Manor Farm's cheese and wine party.
00:46:00Do you remember them?
00:46:01Host Tom Sergi will be bringing you the very best
00:46:04in cheese and wine pairings for any occasion.
00:46:07And let's be honest,
00:46:08there's always an occasion for a cheese board.
00:46:11Love it.
00:46:12And they say that the couple who laughs together
00:46:14are the best of friends.
00:46:17And they say that the couple who laughs together
00:46:19stays together.
00:46:20So these two must have a marriage made in heaven.
00:46:23Paul Merton and Suki Webster
00:46:25on surviving onstage surprises,
00:46:27motorhome mishaps and the ultimate test,
00:46:31married life.
00:46:32But first, as March rolls on
00:46:34and gently nudges spring to awaken,
00:46:37a tapestry of blooms is gradually spreading
00:46:40across our beautiful landscape.
00:46:42Bold daffodils, bright hyacinths,
00:46:44beautiful tulips all begin to blossom.
00:46:47And as this glorious scene emerges,
00:46:50you can't help but wonder at the beauty
00:46:52of our native florals.
00:46:54Here to show us how to make the most
00:46:55of all that's on offer in the wild
00:46:58and from our florists
00:46:59and how to harness our spring blooms
00:47:01in a sustainable way
00:47:03is floral designer, Jonathan Moseley.
00:47:06Welcome Jonathan.
00:47:07And what a look, you know,
00:47:09suddenly you think, oh yes, spring is arriving.
00:47:11Spring's arrived.
00:47:12It's such a wonderful time, isn't it?
00:47:13Yeah.
00:47:14For flowers, I think it's one of the nicest
00:47:16because we've so long waited for them.
00:47:19I love the subtlety of nature
00:47:21in that the first ones to come out
00:47:22of the snowdrops, which are white.
00:47:24So you get a bit of gentle,
00:47:25there's no colour at all really, just white.
00:47:27Then the daffs, yellow,
00:47:28and then the tulips with all the colours.
00:47:29And the climax of the tulips.
00:47:31It's wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
00:47:33It's anticipation and looking forward.
00:47:36Absolutely, and celebrating
00:47:38what we've got to work with
00:47:40because I think the nice thing
00:47:41about people's connection now to flowers
00:47:44is they want things that have been grown locally
00:47:47that haven't clocked up loads of air miles.
00:47:49There's a benefit to that for you as a user
00:47:52because they're fresher.
00:47:53You're buying direct from somebody
00:47:55who's grown them with love, with care.
00:47:57Often many of these local flower farms
00:47:59are growing organically,
00:48:01which is something that we're all passionate about.
00:48:03We all celebrate.
00:48:04So if ever you feel powerless
00:48:05to do anything for the environment,
00:48:07which seems like such a big issue,
00:48:09this is a practical, pragmatic way of you
00:48:12doing your bit
00:48:13and making sure that what you do
00:48:15and the flowers that you buy
00:48:16have used as little energy as possible.
00:48:21This is a sustainable way of going about it.
00:48:22And also I think,
00:48:23certainly in our floristry world as well,
00:48:26we're looking at ways
00:48:27where our flowers have been grown
00:48:29that's environmentally friendly,
00:48:31but also that that workforce
00:48:33that's been growing them,
00:48:34that's been nurturing them,
00:48:35that they've been well looked after,
00:48:38that they've got good working conditions.
00:48:40We're also looking at packaging
00:48:42and reducing packaging down.
00:48:43You know, it really troubles me
00:48:44so often flowers have got so much wrapping around.
00:48:47And years ago in floristry,
00:48:50if somebody sent a bouquet of flowers,
00:48:52then almost the packaging
00:48:54was more than the flowers.
00:48:56It became so ridiculous.
00:48:57Now let's have a look
00:48:58at what you're putting in.
00:48:58Lamb's tails there,
00:48:59hazel catkins.
00:49:00Bit of catkins, good old hazel catkins.
00:49:01Now you're using helibores.
00:49:03Now helibores, I cannot get to stand upright.
00:49:05They are a challenge.
00:49:06I float them like water lilies,
00:49:07the individual flowers in a bowl on the table.
00:49:10So there, are you using the hebe,
00:49:13for instance, or Veronica,
00:49:14as we're not meant to call it,
00:49:15to hold it up?
00:49:16Well, it's sometimes good, Alan.
00:49:18It's a bit like us sometimes.
00:49:19It needs a little bit of support.
00:49:21Yes.
00:49:21Because helibores can have
00:49:23a bit of a soft, flexible neck.
00:49:25But my top tip for helibores,
00:49:27and you know,
00:49:27I may have mentioned this to you before,
00:49:29Alan, I think you forgot,
00:49:31but what I tend to do with helibores is,
00:49:33if you just...
00:49:33That was a slap on the wrist, wasn't it?
00:49:35Look at that.
00:49:36But you what, helibores.
00:49:38Yeah, it's a really good thing,
00:49:39this, to remember for helibores.
00:49:40I'm going to test you next week on this.
00:49:42If you just score gently down one side of the stem,
00:49:45because it's quite a thick, fleshy stem, aren't they?
00:49:47Rotate the stem,
00:49:49score down the other side,
00:49:50put that in deep water overnight,
00:49:53then these little beauties hold their heads upright.
00:49:56I had forgotten that,
00:49:57and I shouldn't have done it.
00:49:58It really does work.
00:49:59Have a go.
00:49:59Right.
00:50:00Knife down each side of the stem,
00:50:01overnight in water up to their necks.
00:50:03And then they'll hold.
00:50:04Well, I never.
00:50:05Yeah, yeah.
00:50:05It was worth tuning into this programme just for that.
00:50:09But this little one, Alan,
00:50:10I've used one of these old things,
00:50:11and I'm sure many, many viewers will have things like these,
00:50:15perhaps in cupboards that they've forgot about.
00:50:17Or their granny might have.
00:50:17Grandma certainly will,
00:50:19and certainly charity shops do.
00:50:21But I love these things,
00:50:22because they've already got that little sort of plastic inner there,
00:50:25which you can hold your stems through,
00:50:27which is fantastic.
00:50:28Really practical.
00:50:29Very practical.
00:50:29Because that's hard to bother.
00:50:30I'm a great, I'm a bunch man.
00:50:31I like, love it like that.
00:50:33Yeah.
00:50:33And often just getting it,
00:50:34I'm going to come back here, you know.
00:50:36So that's a good way,
00:50:37they do stay where you put them.
00:50:38They stay exactly where you put them.
00:50:39Because we're stopping folk,
00:50:40we're trying to stop using their floral foam.
00:50:42We are, we're moving away from floral foam.
00:50:44So there's things like chicken wire,
00:50:46and I've just got an example of that in that urn there, Alan.
00:50:49That's a copper chicken wire.
00:50:51People often use a plastic coated chicken wire,
00:50:53but actually the tiny bits of plastic,
00:50:56the microparticles eventually disintegrate off that chicken wire.
00:51:01It gets into the water,
00:51:02gets into the watercourse,
00:51:04gets into our rivers,
00:51:05it gets into our oceans.
00:51:06So actually just a natural chicken wire,
00:51:09and this copper one,
00:51:10this is a floristry chicken wire actually.
00:51:13And it's really easy to manipulate and shape.
00:51:16There's a lot of it in that urn.
00:51:17This mass is about to last you for a lifetime.
00:51:19Yeah.
00:51:20Right, look at this.
00:51:20I love these tulips here in this.
00:51:23This is a sort of hint of the Dutch tulip vase, isn't it?
00:51:26It's like a contemporary tulip vase.
00:51:28Yeah, and you've used,
00:51:29is this midwinter fire?
00:51:31It is.
00:51:31This is a cornice midwinter fire.
00:51:33I love the fact that it's darker on the side.
00:51:36Can I just show that?
00:51:37It's, I'm going to take it out, forgive me.
00:51:38Take a piece out.
00:51:39It's darker on the side where the sun hits it
00:51:42than the side which is shady.
00:51:44So look, you get this bi-colour effect.
00:51:46It's so beautiful.
00:51:47Isn't that beautiful?
00:51:48Yellow on one side and red on the other.
00:51:50I think it's that way around.
00:51:51I think it's red on the sun.
00:51:52What a great for autumn colour as well in the garden, Alan.
00:51:54Yeah.
00:51:55It's such a useful thing.
00:51:55But we're about almost to prune them down now.
00:51:57We are.
00:51:58We're really hard.
00:51:58But when I prune them, I save them.
00:52:00I save all that twiggy congestion.
00:52:02Yeah.
00:52:03And this is from last year, Alan,
00:52:04when I was doing some fruit tree pruning in wintertime.
00:52:07I save all the apple branches, all the pear branches,
00:52:10all the plums, damsons.
00:52:12And I know that looks a bit of a monstrosity in its raw state here.
00:52:16But I create things like this.
00:52:18And then when we're doing arrangements in containers,
00:52:21you can just pop that into your container
00:52:23and then just take a flower.
00:52:25And actually this acts as a natural mechanic.
00:52:28And it will just hold your flower in place.
00:52:30Amazing.
00:52:30So you could do something quite minimalist on there.
00:52:33Being inventive.
00:52:34But that little one you've done with the hellebores,
00:52:36you should have that up just to see how beautiful that is.
00:52:39Hellebores, pussy willow.
00:52:40You gave me some cuttings of this.
00:52:42I did, the pink one, yes, fantastic.
00:52:44Purple pittosporum, a glorious purple hellebores.
00:52:48And the hebe, or Veronica, as we now have to call it again.
00:52:51And the green hellebores.
00:52:53The green, the contrast.
00:52:53Isn't that gorgeous?
00:52:54You see, that's my idea of a perfect bunch for a kitchen table.
00:52:57And it's seasonally, it's in keeping for now.
00:52:59Just like this little flowering, Alan,
00:53:01you can get so many of these.
00:53:04And I've got a collection, I must have, goodness knows,
00:53:06about 50, 60 pieces of these.
00:53:08You're the Scourge of the Jumbo.
00:53:10I'm terrible.
00:53:11But you know, I'll make you smile here, Alan.
00:53:13When I was getting some of these out,
00:53:15it shows how long I've had these.
00:53:17Oxfam, 75p.
00:53:19But, handwritten label.
00:53:22So it dates it, doesn't it?
00:53:23That's vintage Oxfam.
00:53:27You know, things that when they've not got anything in,
00:53:28you think, well, that's a bit naff.
00:53:30As soon as you put that in, look at that.
00:53:32It's sweet.
00:53:32Things like this, traditionally,
00:53:34they would have been put on dressing tables and bedrooms.
00:53:36And just to sort of cheer up that environment,
00:53:39if you're having guests come to stay.
00:53:40You realise that the charity shops will sell out of these
00:53:43this, you know, this coming week now,
00:53:45because we've shown what you can do with them on here.
00:53:47These, Alan, now, I learnt a new word from you.
00:53:50We always used to call these,
00:53:51or I always used to call these pin holders.
00:53:53Absolutely, me too.
00:53:54What do they call them?
00:53:55Kenzans.
00:53:56Is that a Japanese word?
00:53:57Japanese word.
00:53:58They date back to ancient Japanese flowering,
00:54:00into Ikebana.
00:54:02And these are fantastic to do something minimalistic.
00:54:05The heavy weight.
00:54:06We could do that with that Saracocca, Alan,
00:54:08and just spike.
00:54:09Stick it in.
00:54:10Just straight onto there.
00:54:11Straight onto that.
00:54:12And it just shows how practical they are for holding things.
00:54:16You've got to grow Saracocca.
00:54:18I love it.
00:54:18The fragrance, tiny little white, whiskery flowers.
00:54:21But the fragrance is intensely,
00:54:23I'm going to say overpowering, not in a bad way,
00:54:25but just, oh my goodness.
00:54:27I love it.
00:54:28Yeah.
00:54:28But then, Alan, I did,
00:54:30I used one of the Kenzans, or pin holders,
00:54:33or flower frogs, we used to call them as well.
00:54:36And I've just done that design
00:54:38in that very sort of classical 1920s style.
00:54:40I'm getting a real retro feel from you today.
00:54:42Definitely, sort of vintage, isn't it?
00:54:44And retro.
00:54:45Yeah.
00:54:46I'm getting to that age, Alan, that's why.
00:54:48Yeah, it's the trouble is this stuff
00:54:49that was when I was growing up,
00:54:51is now retro.
00:54:52It's rather annoying.
00:54:53But then it comes back round again, doesn't it?
00:54:55It comes back into fashion.
00:54:56What are we going to do over here?
00:54:57You've got some crates.
00:54:57Yeah, I've got a few crates
00:54:59because I think another sort of fun element, Alan,
00:55:01when we're sort of planning to make flower arrangements,
00:55:05is look at what you've got around
00:55:07and be sustainable by using what you've got.
00:55:10So you've been out into the garden,
00:55:11you've nicked a bit of choise here.
00:55:12I've got some choise here.
00:55:13Sundance, the yellow medicine oil.
00:55:14Again, quite pungent smell, but I quite like it.
00:55:16Yeah, when you crush it.
00:55:18Yeah, and then ivy.
00:55:19We've got some ivy.
00:55:20Very splashy or Cuba.
00:55:22Yeah.
00:55:23Is it a laurel?
00:55:24It's a laurel, this one.
00:55:25Yes, laurel.
00:55:26And it's marbled white.
00:55:27Prunus lauriceras is marbled white.
00:55:29Right.
00:55:30And it's sort of looking a bit disheveled now
00:55:32because it's been through the winter
00:55:34and we all look a bit disheveled, don't we?
00:55:35It's been through the winter, yeah.
00:55:37But it will put on an array of gorgeous new growth shortly.
00:55:41And people often say about flowers,
00:55:43it's hard to get British flowers in the depths of winter
00:55:47and what's around all year.
00:55:49And one of our growers, which is Crossland Flower Farm,
00:55:52they grow Alstroemeria 52 weeks of the year.
00:55:55Is it really?
00:55:55It's obviously undercover in winter.
00:55:57They're undercover.
00:55:57And, you know, Alstroemeria, I think, is a fantastic flower.
00:56:00It lasts well, doesn't it?
00:56:01That is my point about it, exactly.
00:56:03You know, its longevity is great.
00:56:05It's lovely.
00:56:06These Dutch irises, do we call these, or English irises?
00:56:08They are English iris.
00:56:10We call them Dutch iris.
00:56:11We've always called them Dutch iris, haven't we?
00:56:13And even when you buy the balls in the catalogs,
00:56:15they're Dutch iris.
00:56:17Yeah.
00:56:17And our British tulip season,
00:56:19it's sort of at its full peak throughout mid-spring time
00:56:25and we grow some amazing tulips.
00:56:27So I'm just going to pop a few of these in here,
00:56:29which more or less completes this.
00:56:32I love these crates.
00:56:34They're brilliant.
00:56:35And I'm arranging into that chicken wire, Alan,
00:56:37just inside here.
00:56:39Yeah.
00:56:39So if I just lift up, you'll see I've got a potluck
00:56:41just inside there, which just holds all that.
00:56:45And then what I've done for a bit of fun, Alan,
00:56:47and I thought if somebody's having a spring party
00:56:49or you've got a wedding coming up maybe,
00:56:51you could get a series of crates
00:56:54and just stack these together.
00:56:56Look at that.
00:56:57And I've done an arrangement in each little crate there.
00:57:01I can just pop that on the top
00:57:03and then another little posy there, Alan,
00:57:06just in a galvanised bucket.
00:57:07Just stuff from the garden in most of it.
00:57:10Clippings, just clippings from the garden, Alan.
00:57:13And I'll just turn that that way around,
00:57:14which is more sensible.
00:57:16You could do this for a living.
00:57:17You're very good at it.
00:57:18I don't know, Alan.
00:57:20I think there's a lot of work in it.
00:57:22See all the little lines, there's no money in it, you know.
00:57:25No money in flowers.
00:57:26But what there is, is fun.
00:57:27It is fun.
00:57:28And just the sight of a little miniature daff,
00:57:31miniature narcissi, coming into bloom at this time of year,
00:57:35it just reminds you that there is hope in nature.
00:57:39Glancing at that, looking at what you've created there,
00:57:43fill your lungs with a bit of a perfume
00:57:45and a whole load of optimism.
00:57:47Flowers give us pleasure, Alan.
00:57:48They do.
00:57:49And they're there for everybody to enjoy.
00:57:51All we have to do is cherish them.
00:57:53Jonathan, thank you very much indeed.
00:57:55Delightful.
00:57:56That'll make you feel better.
00:57:58Now, if you've ever struggled to put up a shelf
00:58:01or had a flat pack fail, this lot will put you to shame.
00:58:05Nature's natural builders.
00:58:07Beavers, they're an impressive lot.
00:58:10Thankfully, these hardy hard workers
00:58:12are making a comeback in our island.
00:58:14Leslie Joseph introduces us to a colony of kits
00:58:18in this week's Small Wonders.
00:58:20And a very good morning to you, Alan.
00:58:23Oh, and what a small wonder we have for you today.
00:58:26Step forward, the beguiling beaver.
00:58:30The Eurasian beaver, or castor fibre to their friends,
00:58:34is native to these shores
00:58:35and was once widespread throughout Britain,
00:58:38but were hunted to extinction in the 16th century.
00:58:42Our beaver friends live in small family groups,
00:58:45a bit like the Waltons.
00:58:47Remember them?
00:58:47Good night, John boy.
00:58:49Good night, Mary Ellen.
00:58:52Now to matters of copulation.
00:58:54I say yes when it comes to the adults alone time.
00:58:58Beaver breeding season takes place
00:58:59between December and April,
00:59:01so don't be surprised if you ever hear
00:59:03the dulcet tones of Barry White
00:59:05coming from a beaver lodge during the winter.
00:59:09Personally, I prefer a bit of Barry Manilow,
00:59:10but it's not about me.
00:59:13Pregnancy lasts just over 100 days
00:59:16and once born, the young beavers,
00:59:19otherwise known as kits,
00:59:20slowly learn their ways of the land.
00:59:23Despite being rather slow on land,
00:59:25beavers are excellent swimmers who love deep water.
00:59:29In fact, if the water isn't deep enough for them,
00:59:32they make it deeper.
00:59:34Oh, such divas, these beavers.
00:59:37By creating dams, making ponds
00:59:40and forming canals to swim around their territory,
00:59:43beavers create habitat that helps other wildlife
00:59:45to thrive.
00:59:47They have the ability to swim at speeds
00:59:49of up to five miles an hour
00:59:51and can hold their breath for up to 15 minutes.
00:59:55Not only that, but they even have a pair
00:59:57of inbuilt swimming goggles
00:59:59due to their transparent extra eyelids,
01:00:02otherwise known as nictitating membranes.
01:00:05Now that's a party trick.
01:00:06It's put Big In's balloon dance to shame.
01:00:10Oh, now look at our beaver friends here.
01:00:12The older beaver showing the baby beaver
01:00:14all the tricks of the trade
01:00:16when it comes to self-grooming.
01:00:18After all, you don't want twigs
01:00:19and clumps of mud stuck in your hair.
01:00:21Well, not unless you're at Glastonbury Festival,
01:00:24but I can't imagine our beaver friends
01:00:25will have got tickets this year.
01:00:27Shocking Wi-Fi connection at these dams.
01:00:29Oh, do be careful, baby beaver.
01:00:32You don't want to fall into the...
01:00:34Oh, never mind.
01:00:35I did try to warn them.
01:00:37Ciao till next time.
01:00:40Oh, thanks as always, Lesley.
01:00:42You pulled it out of the bag yet again.
01:00:44Did you know that beavers slap their tails
01:00:47to warn others of danger?
01:00:49That'd be a handy talent, wouldn't it?
01:00:51Still ahead, Romeo and Juliet,
01:00:54Morse and Lewis,
01:00:55Titchmarsh and a trowel.
01:00:56Some things are just meant to go together.
01:00:59Tom Sergey showcases the English and Welsh
01:01:01grapes and cheeses
01:01:03that are a match made in culinary heaven.
01:01:06I can almost smell the blue.
01:01:08At least I think that's what I smell.
01:01:10And described as a night of fast
01:01:13and fabulously funny improvised
01:01:15Laffy Socks of comedy,
01:01:17Paul Merton and Suki Webster
01:01:19bringing some unplanned chaos
01:01:21to a theatre near you very soon.
01:01:23I'll see you with Paul and Suki
01:01:25for some improvised chat
01:01:27right after this.
01:01:41Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.
01:01:42Still ahead, you might enjoy
01:01:44a robust English reserve
01:01:46with the sharp aged cheddar
01:01:48or perhaps a crisp chardonnay
01:01:50with a tangy, creamy chèvre.
01:01:52Bit of a French accent there.
01:01:53Goat's cheese.
01:01:55Tom Sergey reveals his top wine and cheese combos.
01:01:58From brie to blue,
01:01:59Tom's got it all in this week's Best of British.
01:02:02But first, in the words of author H. Jackson Brown,
01:02:05creating a successful marriage is like finding out
01:02:08creating a successful marriage is like farming.
01:02:11You have to start over again every morning.
01:02:13Well, it looks like this comedy couple
01:02:15may have taken that advice a little too literally.
01:02:18Getting the sheep out of the pen is one thing.
01:02:20Gathering them all back in again is somewhat harder.
01:02:24Keith, get them in there, will you?
01:02:26Oi, mate, buy you a pint of beer?
01:02:29Nice pork chop.
01:02:30He's sounding more and more like a landowner.
01:02:32Use a Yorkshire accent.
01:02:34Right, get them in there.
01:02:36That's better.
01:02:36Go on.
01:02:37Yes, Keith.
01:02:38Yes.
01:02:39Go on.
01:02:40Go on, lad.
01:02:41Right.
01:02:43Right, come by.
01:02:45Right.
01:02:48Go on.
01:02:51Yes.
01:02:55You did a brilliant job then.
01:02:57Oh, bless you for pretending that was me.
01:03:00Not sure about the shepherding, Suki,
01:03:02but the Yorkshire accent was very good.
01:03:04Well, thank you very much.
01:03:07That was from Motor Homies.
01:03:08Yes, that's right, yeah.
01:03:09So there you are.
01:03:10I haven't seen that for a while.
01:03:11It's quite interesting, isn't it?
01:03:12And what's funny is the dog only listened to him.
01:03:15So he must have been doing something, because I tried.
01:03:18And at one point, I put my arms behind him
01:03:21and pretended that we were one person,
01:03:23or he had his arms through me, didn't he?
01:03:25So that it looked like I was doing it,
01:03:27but actually it was his voice with, yeah.
01:03:30The dog, oh dear.
01:03:31But you clearly, it's obvious,
01:03:33you obviously enjoy running this company.
01:03:35I mean, you know, for better, for worse,
01:03:37but not for lunch is the usual thing about running.
01:03:40You've taken it a stage further than that.
01:03:42Yeah, I think we do.
01:03:43I mean, we do, you know, we do a lot of work together
01:03:45and we sort of wake up in the mornings
01:03:46and we, you know, there was a laugh quite early on in the day
01:03:50and we just sort of, we do enjoy each other's company.
01:03:52Yes, Paul often wakes up in the morning,
01:03:54looks at me and says, what have I done?
01:03:56What have I done?
01:03:57You can read either way.
01:03:59Do you then tell him?
01:04:01I would look at Suki in the morning and go, what have I done?
01:04:03Working with humour as well.
01:04:06Have you got the same sense of humour?
01:04:07Is that a silly question?
01:04:09Do you laugh at the same things?
01:04:10We do.
01:04:11Yeah, we do really, don't we?
01:04:13Yeah, I think we do.
01:04:14I think a shared sense of humour is very, you know,
01:04:16is very useful, important,
01:04:17particularly in the work we do on stage,
01:04:19but also in the relationship.
01:04:20If a couple laugh together, then they're getting on, you know.
01:04:23I look at the mirror in the morning, stark naked,
01:04:25I laugh and so does Suki.
01:04:27Yeah, it's very funny.
01:04:28Yeah.
01:04:30Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:04:31Yeah.
01:04:32Is it, because comedy,
01:04:35we'll talk about have I got news in a bit,
01:04:36but it can be very competitive.
01:04:39But between us, is there a degree of competition?
01:04:42Oh, I got more laughs tonight than you did.
01:04:44Is that unsaid?
01:04:44Improvisation isn't.
01:04:46Stand-ups, because they're two individuals, can be competitive.
01:04:49But it's very much a team sport.
01:04:51So you've got to support each other
01:04:52and you've got to have a personality
01:04:54that quite likes being a team.
01:04:56Yeah, and I love comedy so much
01:04:58that I actually don't mind playing straight to somebody.
01:05:00It's like, you know, Suki's getting big laughs on something
01:05:02and I'm just playing a straighter part.
01:05:04That I think is great as well,
01:05:05because, you know, if we talk about perhaps
01:05:07our greatest double act, Morcombe and Wise,
01:05:09only Wise is doing as much work as Eric
01:05:11because he's supporting what Eric does.
01:05:13It's not as showy and it's not as obvious,
01:05:16but it really is as important as what Eric is doing.
01:05:18And if we are doing a scene together on stage
01:05:20and Suki's getting lots of laughs,
01:05:22I can just become a supportive role and I love that.
01:05:24I mean, I wouldn't probably want to be a straight man all the time,
01:05:27but it's another aspect of comedy,
01:05:29which I, you know, as an art form,
01:05:31I just love every A to Z of it, really.
01:05:33Is that the great delight of impro?
01:05:35Is the fact that it is going to be different every night
01:05:38and you really are living on your wits there
01:05:40in a way more than you are with stand-up?
01:05:42Well, in stand-up, yes, it's alone,
01:05:45not necessarily lonely, but it's solitary.
01:05:47But you can hone it, you can refine it,
01:05:49you can do the bits you know work really well.
01:05:51You're really at the end of the plank on the pirate ship,
01:05:55aren't you, really, with impro?
01:05:57Where am I going from here?
01:05:58But that adds to it, presumably.
01:06:00It does, but also there's nothing to worry about.
01:06:03It doesn't exist yet, so we can't worry about it.
01:06:07That's the strange thing.
01:06:08It's like if you do a sort of stand-up act
01:06:10and you've got a bit about a budgie that plays the accordion.
01:06:14That bit was good.
01:06:15And nobody finds it funny and you think,
01:06:17oh, I've got to do that budgie playing the accordion bit.
01:06:19Maybe I'll put it at the end, maybe I'll put it at the beginning.
01:06:21But with impro, if you do a bit about budgie playing the accordion,
01:06:24nobody laughs, you just move on.
01:06:26Before the show, you don't know you're going to talk
01:06:27about a budgie playing the accordion,
01:06:29so there's nothing to worry about
01:06:30because there actually is no material until you start doing it.
01:06:33But you do these things where you get the audience up
01:06:36to actually be part of it and they move you around.
01:06:38Yes, yes.
01:06:39And then there are words that you've got and things like that,
01:06:42which is, I mean, you must laugh as much at it
01:06:46because the audience, they're working as well, in a way, aren't they?
01:06:49Yeah.
01:06:49No, there are times that you make each other really laugh on stage
01:06:53and it's great.
01:06:54You can't be indulgent with it,
01:06:56but there are times when you're finding it as funny as the audience.
01:06:59And then they find it funny that you're finding it funny, so it's actually okay.
01:07:02I think it's that thing, you've got to be careful.
01:07:04I mean, you know, they talk about it being corpse
01:07:06and on stage is what they talk about
01:07:07when people are laughing about what you're doing.
01:07:09Providing you don't do it right at the beginning of the show
01:07:11and the audience see that you are genuinely laughing, it's great.
01:07:14You know, I have seen shows where people pretend to be laughing
01:07:17and it's dreadful.
01:07:19But no, because it's improvised,
01:07:21you can be sitting at the side of the stage,
01:07:22watching what's happening on stage
01:07:23and enjoying it as much as any member of the audience.
01:07:26But there's this, because you're doing this,
01:07:27you're going to tour this improv show, your joint improv show.
01:07:32It must be really weird, you know,
01:07:33going there and kind of sitting in the car outside the theatre
01:07:35and thinking, right, well, we've got about two and a half hours here
01:07:39to fill in this theatre.
01:07:40We haven't a clue what we're going to fill it with.
01:07:43Does that raise your performance in a way?
01:07:46Yes, I mean, you can't be complacent about it, certainly.
01:07:48You know, you could, I suppose, if you were doing a play
01:07:52or a piece of stand-up, you shouldn't be complacent about it either.
01:07:54But you could see yourself falling into a mindset where you go,
01:07:56well, I know this works and I just go through the words or whatever.
01:07:59But in the improv thing, the key thing is listening.
01:08:02So Suki says something, I react to what she says,
01:08:04she reacts to what I say.
01:08:06So if she says in a scene that she's a doctor,
01:08:09then I've got to start talking to her as if she's a doctor.
01:08:11I can't talk to her as if she's a plumber
01:08:13because, you know, it wouldn't really work.
01:08:15So it is, yeah, I don't get nervous, but I get ready.
01:08:18But also, the other thing that's going to be very exciting about this run
01:08:22is we've got some guests who have never improvised before.
01:08:26So, and we, last run, he's coming back, we had Stephen Mangan,
01:08:30he'd never done it, but he trusted us.
01:08:33Yeah, and loved it, he loved it.
01:08:34He said, I wish I'd done this years ago.
01:08:36Stephen's very sharp, you know, several times.
01:08:39He's quick-witted, isn't he?
01:08:41That's exactly what you need.
01:08:41And we have David Tennant is doing it for the first time ever.
01:08:45David Mitchell's never done it before.
01:08:47We have Miles Jupp, we have Julian Clary.
01:08:50Dave Mitchell has never done improv before.
01:08:52No, no.
01:08:53And he was sort of, I mean, I think he's quite apprehensive about it,
01:08:56but I sort of sent him a long email saying,
01:08:58there's no need to worry about it, you know,
01:08:59don't think of jumping out of a plane without a parachute
01:09:02because, A, there's no parachute, but also there's no plane.
01:09:05You're on ground level, we'll look after you.
01:09:07And he's trusted us and I strongly suspect he'll have a great time.
01:09:12If he can withstand Lee Mack on what I lie to you,
01:09:15I think you'll be in very safe hands.
01:09:17David improvises all the time, it's just he's never thought of doing it.
01:09:19Called it that.
01:09:20Never called it that, that's it, exactly.
01:09:22You're about to tell us where you're going to be on the tour.
01:09:24Yes, well, first of all, we've got a weekly show at the London Comedy Store.
01:09:29When is that?
01:09:30That is March the 12th through to April the 30th at 7.30pm.
01:09:33Is that a comedy store in London?
01:09:34It is, it's at 7.30pm.
01:09:37We hope we'll see you there.
01:09:38Well, I hope you'll see it there because you don't seem very sure.
01:09:40I've no idea.
01:09:41And then we start the tour on October the 11th and we're in Basingston.
01:09:45That's our first date and that runs through to spring 2026.
01:09:49That's right, a little bit of a gap over Christmas,
01:09:51but then yeah, spring 2026, so yeah.
01:09:53Christmas, here we are in March talking about Christmas.
01:09:54Yeah, a long way away.
01:09:56Many, many years ago, I was on Have I Got News For You as a guest
01:09:59and I have to say this is a good few years ago,
01:10:01it must be at least 10, 15 years ago,
01:10:03and I remember going in there and feeling as if I was being led to the gallows.
01:10:06Yes.
01:10:07I was that scared, but I learnt very quickly that the way,
01:10:13from my point of view, I felt to get through Have I Got News For You
01:10:17was to speak when I was spoken to or asked a question,
01:10:20but to leave the comedy down to it was then Angus Deaton and you and Ian Hislop,
01:10:25it is a programme that I have to say, of which I am very fond.
01:10:27Look at this.
01:10:28Time now.
01:10:29Time now.
01:10:30Time now.
01:10:32Time now.
01:10:35Why did you start talking like that?
01:10:37Why am I talking like what?
01:10:38That's how I talk.
01:10:39Time now.
01:10:41We've been coming here 56 years.
01:10:43Time now.
01:10:45You know, you've made me super self-conscious.
01:10:47Yeah.
01:10:48Don't be super self-conscious.
01:10:49Just don't go, time now.
01:11:04Now, with Charlie, because he's hosted it a few times,
01:11:06I knew I could sort of pick him up on that.
01:11:08If it was somebody who was new to hosting on our show and hadn't done it before,
01:11:12I wouldn't do that because you don't want to throw somebody into a position
01:11:14where they go, oh, I don't know what to do.
01:11:16But actually, he timed that very nicely, where he just sort of gave a look
01:11:19and then paused and hesitated.
01:11:20And he's very accomplished.
01:11:22So I knew it was OK.
01:11:23But he did suddenly go, time now.
01:11:27Well, you were all very kind to me.
01:11:28I have to say, you know, it's soft target, I suppose.
01:11:31But it was somebody else on the panel, whose name I won't give away,
01:11:34who said he pronounced IKEA Ikea, and you leapt on him.
01:11:39Oh, did I?
01:11:40Yeah.
01:11:41And I thought, oh, good, somebody else is taking the flak.
01:11:43It doesn't matter.
01:11:44But there is a degree of rivalry there, isn't there?
01:11:46I think really only in terms of getting the most laughs
01:11:49or making sure that you're earning the team.
01:11:52I mean, I don't think there's a sense of rivalry with Ian
01:11:54because he's won so few shows over 35 years.
01:11:57It'd be like feeling a rivalry with, well, I can't think of a comparison,
01:12:01with somebody who hasn't won a show in 35 years.
01:12:04No, but Ian's very, very good at doing the serious political stuff.
01:12:08And he really knows his stuff.
01:12:09And I think a lot of people tune in to see what Ian has to say about it,
01:12:13about things, you know.
01:12:14He doesn't pull his punches, does he?
01:12:15That's why I watch it, is for Ian Hislop.
01:12:18Yeah, is it, really?
01:12:18Yeah, that's nice to know, isn't it?
01:12:21On Alan's show, I've come along on Alan's show,
01:12:23and I know there's an injunction at the moment,
01:12:25and we're not meant to sit next to each other.
01:12:27But nevertheless, here we are.
01:12:29No, yeah, I mean, there's no rivalry between me and Ian
01:12:32because what Ian does, Ian is also very funny,
01:12:34but Ian is so sharp.
01:12:36He understands, he's a journalist as well.
01:12:38He understands news stories much better than I do.
01:12:40So I tend to get the silly ones and the silly questions,
01:12:43and I'm happy with that.
01:12:46You mentioned Morcombe and Wise there.
01:12:48Comedy heroes, I mean, the people that you learn from
01:12:51and you admire, Suki.
01:12:53I mean, who's top of your list?
01:12:54Oh, so many, so many.
01:12:58Love Paul Merton.
01:13:01I genuinely think Paul is fabulous.
01:13:04Billy Connolly, I saw him a few years ago,
01:13:07and he's so relaxed on stage.
01:13:10I mean, he's just brilliant.
01:13:12And having a good time, enjoying being there,
01:13:16and that at ease with an audience,
01:13:18and that makes you as an audience member feel...
01:13:20I saw Dave Allen once.
01:13:21Dave Allen didn't tour often,
01:13:23but I saw him once do two hours at Wimbledon Theatre,
01:13:25and it was just remarkable.
01:13:27He felt like he was sitting in the corner of a pub with him.
01:13:30Was that sitting on the stool with a glass of scotch?
01:13:32Yeah, and just such a brilliant raconteur.
01:13:35He just took you into the stories,
01:13:37and you could have sat there and listened to him all day.
01:13:40It was just wonderful.
01:13:41But it's amazing now.
01:13:42I mean, young people, there's so much comedy
01:13:44you can access on YouTube and all sorts of stuff.
01:13:46Young people don't know a lot of these comics.
01:13:48Peter Cook, you speak to a young person about Peter Cook,
01:13:50they have no idea who it is.
01:13:53And he's, you know, he was still around to the 1990s,
01:13:55so it is extraordinary that some of these great names
01:13:58are now disappearing into, you know, distant memory.
01:14:00Talking about working with greats,
01:14:02there is one great that we have footage of you working with
01:14:05in Panto.
01:14:06Ronnie Coors.
01:14:07Oh, yes.
01:14:09Lucretia.
01:14:10Yes.
01:14:19Griselda.
01:14:20Yes.
01:14:23My dear, we are behaving like two very common gutters.
01:14:27You're quite right.
01:14:28Anybody would think we didn't have class.
01:14:29Yes, indeed.
01:14:30OK.
01:14:30Let's just continue.
01:14:32Yeah.
01:14:32With the decorating in a very nice gentlemanly way,
01:14:35and all girly way, and then...
01:14:39And...
01:14:40We've all got our secrets, haven't we?
01:14:41Yes, indeed.
01:14:43I haven't seen that for a long time, either.
01:14:46Yeah, that's a great joy.
01:14:47Yeah, we were meant to be identical twin sisters.
01:14:51Do you ever work now with scriptwriters,
01:14:53or is it all your own material?
01:14:54The only writers I ever worked with were Gorton Simpson,
01:14:57when I did a series, which we did for ITV a long time ago,
01:15:02Ray and Alan, yeah,
01:15:03for viewers who know them will know them from Hancock's Half Hour,
01:15:06and Steptoe, and Son, and stuff.
01:15:07And, oh, just a joy, you know.
01:15:08And also for their stories.
01:15:10Yes.
01:15:10Working with the greats like Hancock.
01:15:12Oh, totally, yeah.
01:15:13I mean, they would...
01:15:14Frankie Howard, they told a lot of stories about Frankie Howard,
01:15:17and I said, I've heard two stories about Frankie Howard,
01:15:19which are contradictory.
01:15:20One says that if you wrote a script with him,
01:15:22and you wrote in the oohs and ahs,
01:15:24you'd go, you know, I'll do the oohs and ahs.
01:15:26I'm a pain, you to write oohs and ahs.
01:15:28And then if you didn't put the oohs and ahs,
01:15:29he'd go, where's my oohs and ahs?
01:15:32And he said, no, both stories were true.
01:15:33Whichever version you did without the oohs and ahs,
01:15:35or with them, he would complain.
01:15:37Well, you're a veteran, too, of Just a Minute.
01:15:40Yes.
01:15:40Which is another challenge to wit,
01:15:42and spending no hesitation, repetition, or deviation, you know.
01:15:46So that's another thing.
01:15:48You seem to both of you thrive on being kept on your toes.
01:15:51Thriving on comedy danger, in a way.
01:15:53I mean, Just a Minute is perfect for improvisers.
01:15:55I only did it the once, but loved it.
01:15:57And Nicholas Parsons was the most lovely, lovely man
01:16:02you could possibly ever meet.
01:16:03He was a king gardener.
01:16:04He loved his years, he loved his gardening.
01:16:06Yes.
01:16:07Yeah, he was a great man.
01:16:08He was extraordinary.
01:16:10He said to me once, he said to me,
01:16:12poor, poor, I'm thinking of changing my agent.
01:16:14And he was 93 at the time.
01:16:17It was very funny, very funny.
01:16:19Lovely to have you both with us.
01:16:20Your reward for being here is a glass of wine
01:16:22and a bit of cheese.
01:16:23Oh, how lovely.
01:16:24Yeah.
01:16:24Before we unwind in today's Best of British,
01:16:27it's time to take a moment for your favourite guessing game.
01:16:30Where is this in today's Ode to Joy?
01:17:57So that was, did you get it?
01:18:16Glorious Hastings in East Sussex, courtesy of Jason Stubbs
01:18:20and set to the violin snare number nine by Beethoven.
01:18:24Coming up, a homage to fromage,
01:18:26but what to accompany our smelly favourites?
01:18:29With the cheese and wine party back in style,
01:18:32it's hard to go wrong when you've a glass of wine in one hand
01:18:35and cheese in the other, but without the pineapple chunk.
01:18:37Just ask today's guests, Tom Sergey
01:18:40and the mouth-watering combination of wine and cheese right after this.
01:18:44I'll bring the pickles.
01:18:55Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.
01:19:01Best of British time now, and in the words of T.S. Eliot,
01:19:05never commit yourself to a cheese without having first examined it.
01:19:09Luckily, I have someone to pre-vet my cheese for me.
01:19:13Oh, spoiled over here.
01:19:14To celebrate the most iconic pairing there is,
01:19:16except for Merton and Webster, of course,
01:19:18I'm delighted to welcome back Tom Sergey
01:19:21and his smorgasbord of cheese and wine couplings.
01:19:25So today we are going to do cheese and wine pairings.
01:19:28I've got five of the best British cheeses, which are amazing,
01:19:31and we've sourced them from Rennet and Rind,
01:19:33who are an amazing cheese retailer, but they're in Affineur as well.
01:19:36So they buy cheeses, they mature them themselves
01:19:39and then release them when they're ready.
01:19:40So they should be in tip-top condition.
01:19:43So, shall we begin?
01:19:44Yes, first up.
01:19:46Wine and cheese number one is, cheese-wise, we've got Baron B. God,
01:19:50and so this is Brie-style cheese,
01:19:52and it's made in Suffolk from cow's milk.
01:19:54So really kind of Brie-style, classic, creamy, soft style of cheese.
01:19:58What you've got here is you've got Chardonnay
01:20:01grown on the North Downs in Kent.
01:20:03It's called White Wolf.
01:20:04It's only just come out.
01:20:05This is their first release to, you know,
01:20:08brand new, very young growers.
01:20:09It's very good.
01:20:10Do you like it?
01:20:11I do.
01:20:11Paul?
01:20:11Yes, it's nice.
01:20:12Yeah, I do like it, yeah.
01:20:13It's quite gentle, really, isn't it?
01:20:14Yeah, it's elegant.
01:20:15They do three versions.
01:20:17I normally don't like Chardonnay, and that's very nice.
01:20:20It's not oaky.
01:20:21There's a tiny bit of oak there, but it's not expressive.
01:20:24It doesn't, you can't taste it.
01:20:25It just fleshes it out a bit,
01:20:26and this is their KC3, it's called,
01:20:29and the others are KC1, KC2.
01:20:31The first one's quite minerally.
01:20:32The second one's quite rich and a bit more oaky and round.
01:20:35This is the kind of perfect medium-bodied,
01:20:37kind of elegant drinking Chardonnay.
01:20:39I do love that Brie.
01:20:40It's good.
01:20:40They're a good pairing as well.
01:20:42Baron B. God.
01:20:43Tiny, tiny bit of Brie.
01:20:44Peabrie, which is this one.
01:20:46With cheese and wine pairing,
01:20:47people will reach for red wine immediately,
01:20:49and actually, it's a complete mistake.
01:20:51I think the easiest thing you can do is,
01:20:53if you're pairing cheeses,
01:20:54and you've got a whole cheese board,
01:20:55have a white wine,
01:20:56because the acidity in the white wine cuts through the fat.
01:20:59It pairs really beautifully with the acidity in the cheese.
01:21:01The saltiness in the cheese kind of works beautifully as well.
01:21:03I've heard that you shouldn't keep cheese in the fridge.
01:21:05Is that right?
01:21:06There's a degree of that, yeah.
01:21:07I mean, you certainly should take it out
01:21:10way before you serve it,
01:21:10so a good two or three hours before you serve it.
01:21:12Most people serve it way too cold, for sure,
01:21:15but yeah.
01:21:16That's delicious.
01:21:16We think nice?
01:21:17Do we approve of that one?
01:21:18I do, very, very.
01:21:20It's a lovely white wolf.
01:21:22Next, this is called the Heretics Rose,
01:21:26and it's produced from a beautiful vineyard in Essex.
01:21:31It's 100% Pinot Noir,
01:21:33and people think that English rose,
01:21:34and kind of rose in general all over the world,
01:21:36needs to be Provence Island style.
01:21:38Light pink, elegant,
01:21:39nice to drink in a paddling pool in the garden.
01:21:41This is a bit more structured.
01:21:43It's got a little bit of oak to it.
01:21:44It's a bit more rich and creamy and round,
01:21:47but still really delicious.
01:21:48It's an easy drinking.
01:21:49And alongside the lovely Heretics Blowhorn Rose,
01:21:53you have Ticklemore from Sharpham.
01:21:55I love the name, Ticklemore.
01:21:57Yeah, it sounds like a Mr. Man book.
01:21:59Ticklemore.
01:21:59It is, yeah, Mr. Ticklemore.
01:22:01So this is a creamy,
01:22:02quite sort of citric, herbaceous goat's cheese
01:22:06from down in Devon.
01:22:07It's definitely a goat's cheese, isn't it?
01:22:09Because it cleaves to your palate,
01:22:10so I mean, it's much more dense.
01:22:11Exactly, exactly.
01:22:12Have you ever Ticklemore'd in a paddling pool?
01:22:15Once or twice.
01:22:17Absolutely.
01:22:19It's an ambition.
01:22:20I think you've had enough.
01:22:23We'll discuss more later.
01:22:25Exactly.
01:22:25I wouldn't normally think of having white wine with cheese.
01:22:28No, I mean, I sort of,
01:22:29I've always sort of thought of red wine being,
01:22:31you know, the natural companion,
01:22:33particularly red wine and blue cheese, whatever.
01:22:34But this works really well.
01:22:35These are working well, aren't they?
01:22:36Yeah, yeah.
01:22:37Like I say, I think that's the thing.
01:22:38The common sort of, you know,
01:22:39approach is have red wine with it.
01:22:41If you're going to have red wine,
01:22:42have younger, slightly sweeter,
01:22:44riper styles of red wine, I think.
01:22:46You need a bit of sweetness to balance it.
01:22:48And we're going to get to a red.
01:22:50I will show you a red.
01:22:51I've got another plan for the red.
01:22:53But before we go there,
01:22:54I think cider and wine are broadly the same thing, right?
01:22:59Other than one being made from apples in cider,
01:23:01the other being made from grapes.
01:23:03Both are brilliant, very natural,
01:23:05minimal intervention kind of processes.
01:23:07If you pick the thing, you squish it,
01:23:09out comes some juice and you ferment it.
01:23:10And so we've got this amazing heritage of cider here.
01:23:12So I wanted to show a cider as a wine,
01:23:15but this is non-alcoholic cider,
01:23:18fermented to a full cider.
01:23:20Does that not make it apple juice?
01:23:21Well, so it would be if they hadn't fermented it already.
01:23:24So they ferment it.
01:23:25Then what they do here is they de-alkalise it
01:23:27through this kind of nano filtration process.
01:23:30So it starts as proper cider
01:23:32and then is reduced down to 0.5%.
01:23:33I wouldn't know that wasn't alcoholic.
01:23:35No, that's what I find.
01:23:36It's really good.
01:23:37It's unbelievable.
01:23:38Poacher 50.
01:23:39This is a cheddar, presumably, is it?
01:23:40This is very like a cheddar.
01:23:41So it's cheddar style for sure.
01:23:43So this is made by the same people
01:23:44that make Lincolnshire Poacher,
01:23:46which is a kind of crumbly sort of style of cheese.
01:23:48And this is Poacher 50,
01:23:50which is cooked a little bit longer,
01:23:51just sort of slightly more matured.
01:23:53So it's a bit more dense and kind of closer to cheddar.
01:23:55I'm loving this.
01:23:56This is gorgeous.
01:23:57This is great.
01:23:58You could happily drink this throughout the evening.
01:24:02You wouldn't know it wasn't alcoholic.
01:24:04It's like a very nice, not too sweet cider.
01:24:06Exactly.
01:24:08I mean, they've really completely sort of solved
01:24:10the science of how to make non-alcoholic beers,
01:24:12haven't they, in the last few years?
01:24:14Exactly.
01:24:14It's quite recent though, isn't it?
01:24:15It used to be terrible in the 80s.
01:24:17Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:24:18And we're living in the kind of golden age of it.
01:24:19And the reason why it's getting better
01:24:21is more of us are drinking non-alcoholic things
01:24:23so they can invest more in the process of doing it.
01:24:25And so it's this lovely kind of virtuous circle
01:24:26of all we've got to do is keep drinking the things
01:24:28and they will just get better.
01:24:30Next, we have got some red wine.
01:24:32You can't do wine and cheese pairing
01:24:34without a little bit of red wine, of course.
01:24:36So I've chosen to give you a Pinot Noir
01:24:39made by a lovely man called Will Davenport
01:24:42in East Sussex near Crobra.
01:24:44He's also the foremost organic grower in this country.
01:24:47So this is 100% Pinot Noir made like it's burgundy
01:24:50with beautiful old French oak barrels in there.
01:24:53And it's earthy, it's savoury, it's blackberry,
01:24:56kind of bramble-y, fruited, and it's fresh.
01:24:58It's got this lovely line of acidity.
01:25:00And that's going to be what pairs it beautifully
01:25:02with the cheese.
01:25:02And so we've got classic Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire,
01:25:05a cheese that's close to my heart.
01:25:06The original and the last of the famous
01:25:09kind of Lancashire cheeses, crumbly, semi-hard,
01:25:13and quite kind of crisp.
01:25:14My experience, it needs to be eaten fairly quickly
01:25:17because it dries out.
01:25:18It does dry out and get very hard.
01:25:19Yeah.
01:25:20So you need to buy small quantities and eat it quickly.
01:25:23You definitely do.
01:25:24And you know, if you go to a really lovely cheese shop
01:25:26and you get the wax paper alongside it,
01:25:27I'm always rubbish at it,
01:25:28but what they say is you need to wrap it really tightly.
01:25:31And if you really tightly wrap that cheese
01:25:33with the wax paper, it'll pretty much last.
01:25:35I'll remember that.
01:25:36Yeah, Paul, cheese, good cheese?
01:25:38That's lovely, isn't it?
01:25:39Yeah.
01:25:39It's very nice.
01:25:40It's a shame you can't try it.
01:25:43The Poacher 50 is winning for me right now,
01:25:45if I'm to be honest.
01:25:46I use my kind of, I absolutely love that.
01:25:48It is so good.
01:25:48Absolutely delicious.
01:25:50This is lovely and earthy, this, isn't it?
01:25:52It's fresh, it's vibrant.
01:25:53It's like brambles.
01:25:54There's a lovely bit of earthy, savoury,
01:25:55pinot noir kind of character to it.
01:25:57It's a bit of kind of like autumn leaves
01:25:58sort of thing going on.
01:26:00It's really good value actually for English red wine as well.
01:26:03They tend to be quite premium.
01:26:04And I mean, this is, it's about 22 pounds,
01:26:06but within the English red wine spectrum,
01:26:08I think that really delivers on value.
01:26:10Finally, it's quite an unusual wine, this.
01:26:13And it's one that I've known for over a decade.
01:26:15They're amazing.
01:26:16Wendy, who produces it, is lovely.
01:26:18And it's called Ambriel,
01:26:19and it is their English Reserve MV,
01:26:22which means multi-vintage.
01:26:23Lots of different vintages of the year,
01:26:24different years going into it.
01:26:25Oh, that's nice.
01:26:26And this is what's called a Demisec.
01:26:29So this is not super sweet, but it's off dry.
01:26:32Actually, it's 32 grams of sugar,
01:26:34pretty much just in the bottle.
01:26:36So it's pretty, pretty sweet.
01:26:37The French call it Demisec.
01:26:39It was a style that really was created for the English,
01:26:41because we had a much sweeter palette
01:26:42than the French did when they made champagne.
01:26:44But the opportunity you have here
01:26:45is pairing it with blue cheese.
01:26:47And there is nothing, I think,
01:26:48more enjoyable than slightly sweet wine
01:26:51and lovely kind of salty, kind of funky blue cheese.
01:26:54You don't often nowadays taste a fizz
01:26:56that has any sweetness about it at all.
01:26:58It's not cloyingly sweet,
01:26:59but it's actually quite refreshing
01:27:01that it's not got that sharp taste.
01:27:03Oh, that's rather nice.
01:27:05This is a terrifying combination for me,
01:27:07because I'm not into sweet, fizzy wines,
01:27:10and I really don't very much like a blue cheese.
01:27:13So this might not be...
01:27:17Of course I'm going to try some.
01:27:19Of course I do, Paul.
01:27:21You won't know it's blue.
01:27:22It's very gentle.
01:27:23You'll think it's brie.
01:27:25It doesn't taste like a blue cheese.
01:27:26No, it tastes delicious.
01:27:27Isn't it good?
01:27:30The blue in question is made by a friend of mine.
01:27:32He's a lovely bloke in Sussex called Chris Barkendairy.
01:27:35He started five years ago.
01:27:37This was his first cheese, and it's called Blue Clouds,
01:27:39and it is exactly that.
01:27:40It is just easy, divine.
01:27:42I have to concede that that genuinely
01:27:44was a very nice blue cheese.
01:27:47Not so much.
01:27:48It's too sweet for me, if I'm to be honest.
01:27:49Fair enough, totally fair.
01:27:50But I will concede to the cheese.
01:27:52And as a pairing, it works quite nicely, I think.
01:27:54Salty blue cheese, nice little sweet wine.
01:27:57And do you have anything to say about temperature
01:27:59that wine should be served with that?
01:28:00Yeah, I think there's a really good rule,
01:28:02which a few people have talked about before,
01:28:03but it is generally red wine, store it at room temperature,
01:28:08but put it into the fridge for about 20 minutes
01:28:10before you serve it.
01:28:11You want red wine to be just below room temperature,
01:28:13because when the rules for wine were written,
01:28:15room temperature didn't have central heating
01:28:17and all the rest of it.
01:28:18And then white is the opposite.
01:28:19Keep it in the fridge, and then about 20 minutes,
01:28:21half an hour before you want to serve it,
01:28:22get it out of the fridge.
01:28:24So I think there's a real sort of sea change
01:28:26of chill your red wine just a tiny bit.
01:28:28So guys, are you glad you came?
01:28:31Learned a lot.
01:28:34Well, you've earned it, really, haven't you?
01:28:36That's it for today.
01:28:37Thanks to all my guests, Paul, Suki, Ben and Tom.
01:28:40Join me next week for more Countryside Capers.
01:28:42Until then, in the words of Mel Brooks,
01:28:46hope for the best, expect the worst.
01:28:49Life is a play, we're unrehearsed.
01:28:51Well, there's nothing unrehearsed about this.
01:28:53I can tell you it's delicious.
01:28:54Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
01:28:56Cheers, all.
01:28:56Cheers.
01:29:01Nicely done, Paul.